Model police stations of KP fail to serve purpose

PESHAWAR: The model police stations inaugurated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year proved mere eyewash as none has done anything significant in crime-fighting or public dealing.
Three police stations in the city, Gulbahar, Faqirabad and University Town, were declared model police stations under a foreign-funded project in April 2014. The authorities had announced it would declare three more police stations as model ones but it took another year to extend the project.
Some infrastructural improvements were made in the model police stations with renovation of the building, providing technology for investigation and installation of closed-circuit television cameras. A reception as well as a female desk was established at the police stations to receive the women complainants in a friendly environment.
“After 11 months, there seems nothing different in model police stations and the rest in the provincial capital. There seems no significant improvement in fighting crime and militancy or receiving the general public coming to lodge complaints in any of three model police stations,” a source told The News.
Many officials admitted the three model police stations were no different from others except the infrastructural changes. “We are not much satisfied with the idea of model police stations,” an official admitted, requesting not to be named.
The project is being extended to the Mardan region where one police station in the four districts will be made model police station. There are also plans under consideration to club two police stations and make a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) the in-charge of the new model police stations.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had announced introducing shift system for the constables in every police station so they could perform better. Later the project was limited to the model police stations only.
“Neither any shift system could be started in any model police station nor the lifestyle of the cops improved in the barracks and offices as promised last year. The lockup is the same old-fashioned while the reporting room and the investigation rooms are just like other police stations,” said the source.
A source said that due to round-the-clock duty and stress, now only those cops are interested in posting as station house officers who either want to make money or spend their period as SHO, which is mandatory for promotion to the next grade. “Those who have no interest in making money or passing the mandatory period are no more interested in posting as SHOs due to the overwork at every police station,” said the source.
“The Gulbahar Model Police Station is as pathetic as other police stations. The crime rate is as it was previously and the complainants are being received here in the same old fashion and like the other police stations,” said a source.
Though there is little space for accommodation and offices of the cops, the Peshawar Police authorities have established the offices of SP City and ASP Gulbahar in the same police station. Besides, the Dispute Resolution Council also has its office and court in the same building.
The University Town and Faqirabad police stations are no different. There seems no change there in crime control, investigation or public dealing. Most of the gadgets are not being properly utilised. The Elite Police Force contingents were stationed in the reporting room of the University Town Police Station till last week.
While inaugurating the model police station in Gulbahar in April last year, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had said that the reform programme had been initiated with three model police stations in Peshawar, but soon all the police stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be automatically converted into model police stations.
When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Peshawar Dr Mian Saeed Ahmad said the model police stations were set up to provide effective service delivery mechanism. He said there were different from archaic police stations in outlook and attitude.
“Community desks and women’s desks in the model police stations have greatly reduced the gap between the public and police, but a lot more needs to be done, especially changing attitude of the officials at the police station level,” said Dr Mian Saeed Ahmad.